‘Karolina Muchova will win one of these majors one day,’ says former world No 1
Karolina Muchova came up short in a Grand Slam final for the second time in her career when she lost the Wimbledon showpiece match against Linda Muchova, but former world No 1 Rennae Stubbs believes it is only a matter of time before she wins a major.
Three years after she came close to upsetting defending champion Iga Swiatek before losing in three sets at Roland Garros, Muchova reached her second Grand Slam final as she took on fellow Czech Noskova at the All England Club.
The 29-year-old made a poor start as her younger compatriot dominated early on, but she turned the match on its head in the second set as she saved five match points to take it to a decider before Noskova secured the trophy with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory.
Despite the immense disappointment, Muchova produced a classy speech during the on-court interviews as she jokingly said: “I’ll start with Linda, my ex-friend.
“You’re so young. This was your first final of a [Grand] Slam,” she continued. “The way you handled it and how you played was really unbelievable. Beyond this, you’re especially a very kind person and human being. Congratulations to you and your team. You deserve it.”
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Stubbs, who has won four women’s doubles Grand Slam titles and two mixed doubles majors, is a big fan of Muchova and heaped praise on the world No 6.
“I really like Karolina as a person, and I admire her tennis so much — I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I would have loved to see her hold that trophy at the end of the day, especially with age not on her side the way it is Linda’s,” she wrote on rennaestubbs.substack.com.
“But it wasn’t meant to be. Unlike Linda, Karolina was definitely not her usual relaxed self beforehand. That doesn’t always predict how someone will play, but watching players before they go out, you do get a sense of who might handle it better.”
Muchova has struggled with several serious injuries since she made her breakthrough on the WTA Tour and Stubbs, who coaches the great Serena Williams these days, feels she will get her hands on a Grand Slam trophy.
She added: “The way Karolina Muchova handled the loss — with the class she’s always carries, on and off the court — a speech that was funny, poignant, and heartbreaking all at once, the kind that only wins her more fans, for her tennis and her personality. (I mean, who else hits a legitimate tweener on Centre Court in a Wimbledon final?)
“Karolina will win one of these majors one day. I truly believe that. And she’ll be a very popular champion when she does.”
